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Three years ago, my husband nearly died because of a series of medical mistakes. Although no one was guilty of clear medical malpractice (grossly negligent care resulting in harm), the hospital’s attempts to cut costs, a physician’s careless instructions, and a firewall of inflexible receptionists who refused to let me speak with a doctor led to a 911 call, a trip to the ER, and a 3-day stay in the … read on

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), small businesses and individuals will be offered “robust” coverage and “affordable” premiums on the soon-to-be-running health insurance exchanges.

By grouping together these two traditionally under-served populations, the risk pool will become large enough (theoretically) to allow everyone (most notably those with pre-existing conditions) access to health insurance, and will help keep premiums affordable (again, theoretically).

For the last 15 years, my family has purchased an individual health insurance policy. Individual plans, as opposed to employer-based insurance, usually don’t cover vision. We could buy a separate vision policy, but in an average year the premiums would cost more than our annual eye exams, glasses and contacts combined.

I am a child of the 70’s, and I remember the thrill of being able to stay up past my bedtime, on occasion, to watch The Mary Tyler Moore Show. So it was with sadness that I read the recent news that Valerie Harper, aka Mary’s best friend Rhoda, had been diagnosed with a rare and incurable form of brain cancer.

Out of sight, out of mind

The other day I was cleaning out a kitchen cupboard and unearthed an economy-sized bottle of calcium tablets. Oops! I should be taking one or two of those every day.

Or should I?

Everyone knows calcium is necessary for bone health. Most women have been told by their doctors that they need extra calcium after menopause because without estrogen’s help, bones do not absorb … read on

During the presidential campaign last year, Paul Ryan, the vice-presidential candidate, presented his plan for what we all know is much-needed Medicare reform (too many baby boomers; too little money). Under his plan, seniors would choose a “Medicare certified” private health insurance plan and, depending on the senior’s income, a percentage of the premium would be subsidized.

His plan sounds a lot like the new health insurance exchanges that are … read on

As I was skimming through some of my favorite medical blogs the other day, I ran across a post by Dr. Synonymous, a family medicine doctor somewhere in middle America. His post referred to the time and place of his first “Didgeridoo Hullabaloo” session that he was offering for his patients that suffered from snoring and sleep apnea.

What is a didgeridoo? It’s a native Australian wind instrument, which can … read on

Probiotics are of limited use

As a nurse, I often give patients the advice to eat yogurt when taking antibiotics to decrease the risk of developing diarrhea or, in women, vaginal yeast infections.

Why yogurt? Because it contains live, beneficial micro-organisms—now called probiotics—that are thought to replenish the “good” bacteria incidentally killed when taking antibiotics. In theory, eating yogurt makes sense. At best, it helps; at worse, you get a … read on

Last fall I blogged about an inherent unfairness in our health insurance system. (I know, there’s more than one.) In short, those with employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) generally have lower premiums, lower out-of-pocket costs, and better coverage than those of us that buy health insurance through the individual market.

With the new insurance exchanges, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is supposed to decrease costs and improve coverage. Because of the law’s … read on